Baird dances around question of Israeli settlements

As I’ve written here before, international law says the construction of Israeli settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem are illegal because those territories, which were captured by Israel in the 1967 war, are seen as being subject to the Geneva Conventions, which forbids construction on occupied land.

Canada has long had a decidedly ambiguous position on the matter, which has been muddied even further since the Conservative government came to power.

A significant shift was noted in November, however, when Canada was alone with the US and a couple of tiny Pacific island nations (which generally vote with the US at the UN) in either abstaining or voting against several resolutions related to the occupation and settlements.

In an end-of-year interview at Foreign Affairs headquarters on Dec. 20, I attempted to set the record straight with Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, asking him whether Canada thought the settlements were illegal.

“I think unilateral action on either side is unhelpful,” Baird said.

That doesn’t answer whether the settlements are illegal, I pointed out.

“We want to see a Palestinian child growing up in Jericho or a young Jewish child growing up in Haifa,” he replied. “Growing up with successful lives in peace and security, living next to each other in a two-state solution.”

So when I write that Canada’s position on the issue is ambiguous?

“Our answer is very clear.”

Except for one particular case, the current government has been largely silent whenever the settlement issue arose. This has been the case even when the U.S. and other allies have criticized Israel.

There’s a reason this is important. A very long, complicated reason that is summarized in about 2,000 words here.